Peace and security

More Sharing ServicesPartager Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on Google Share on linkedin Share on facebook_like
In the wake of the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, protests began in the city of Benghazi, Libya, on 15 February 2011. The movement turned into civil war, killing between 10,000 and 50,000 victims. After months of fighting and the support of the Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), the United Nations officially in power, in September 2011, on a provisional basis, the National Transitional Council (CNT). The NTC has appointed its interim prime minister, businessman Abdel Rahim al-Kib, who has spearheaded a national council, composed of former rebels and other officials responsible for organizing the elections within eight months. Acting authorities face serious difficulties in preserving national unity. In March 2012, the eastern provinces proclaimed their semi-autonomy.

On 9 July 2011, seven months after a referendum without ambiguity, South Sudan seceded from Sudan and became the 54th African nation. If this new country has abundant oil reserves, exports are dependent on a pipeline that runs through Sudan to lead the North. After months of discussions, the two countries have not yet reached an agreement on the transit fees that South Sudan should pay Khartoum. Deprived of its oil revenues, Sudan is in a potentially explosive situation. Each State accuses the other of supporting rebel forces operating in their territory. South Sudan also has faced ethnic clashes in Jonglei state, which resulted in several hundred deaths since independence.

In 2011, Africa was the scene of four abortive coups. Guinea, three bodyguards of President Alpha Condé was killed after an assassination attempt on the person of the ruler, July 19, perpetrated by the military. In response, President Condé 59 jailed political opponents, despite the criticism of human rights. In neighboring Guinea-Bissau, a military faction attacked the headquarters of the army and forced the prime minister to seek refuge in the Angolan embassy. The country has been unstable since the assassination of President Vieira in 2009. The third attempt coup took place in Niger, where authorities recently elected officers arrested in late July. Finally, in March 2011, the Malagasy president Andry Rajoelina himself came to power after a coup in 2009, escaped unhurt from a bomb to his car.

In 2012, Africa was a new coup and an alleged coup. Disappointed by the way the authorities handled a rising separatist Tuareg rebels in northern Mali, a group of young army officers seized control of the government on 22 March 2012. After negotiations and mediation of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), the junta agreed to relinquish power to the President of the National Assembly, Dioncounda Traoré. The probability that the Acting President Traoré is able to hold presidential elections and preserve the territorial integrity of the country remains highly uncertain. Building on the success that preceded the military coup, the Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), exploited the political impasse to move rapidly towards the south. The rebels are equipped with weapons and supported by mercenaries from Libya after the fall of the Gaddafi regime. On April 13, they proclaimed the independence of northern Mali, “Azawad.” Although no country has recognized this independence, secession threatens the territorial integrity of Mali. The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has also been active in Mali and seems to be involved in some fights. Its relationship to the MNLA is not clear.

The group AQIM increasingly extends its reach around Mauritania, Algeria, Niger and Mali. Twelve Europeans are being held hostage in early 2012, France and other European countries to help regional authorities to establish a joint task force whose implementation has been delayed. AQIM has benefited from the end of the Libyan conflict, with thousands of weapons in circulation. The 2011 report of the United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reveals the extent of drug trafficking and human trafficking through the porous borders of West Africa. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned in a report in February 2012 against the destabilizing impact on the region links increasingly close ties between terrorist organizations and illicit financial flows from organized crime.

Several border disputes are still valid. In 2011, Kenyan troops entered Somalia after the kidnapping of several tourists in northern installed by armed groups in Somalia. Kenya has joined the international force fighting Shebab militia in Somalia while trying to stop groups that are rooted in poor border regions of northern Kenya. The alleged leader of Al-Qaeda in East Africa, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, was killed in Mogadishu in June 2011.

In Senegal, Casamance clashes between rebels and the army hinder the development of tourism in the region. The United Nations has organized new informal negotiations between the Moroccan authorities and the Polisario Front over the future of Western Sahara. But the talks have stalled, a situation that plagues the kingdom relations with Algeria. The Security Council UN tightened sanctions against senior Eritrean leaders in September 2011, accused of taking part in terrorist plots aimed Ethiopia. In CAR, rebels of the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (PJCC) signed in July a cease-fire with the authorities – a prerequisite for a peace agreement and the demobilization of more than 1400 combatants.

On 14 March 2012, the ICC issued a historic first verdict, condemning Thomas Lubanga for conscripting child soldiers during the civil war in Ituri, in the north-eastern DRC in 2002 and 2003. This judgment is a clear message for other leaders of rebel groups such as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). In October 2011, the U.S. deployed 100 special forces men and technical resources to assist African forces to hunt down the LRA leader, Joseph Kony.

Five operations peacekeeping UN were in place in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011, the UN Mission in CAR and Chad (MINURCAT) ended in December 2010. With the independence of South Sudan in July 2011, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) became the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). It helps the authorities on the policy and security. The Joint Mission of the UN and the AU in Darfur (UNAMID) continues and the Mission of the United Nations Stabilization of Congo (MONUSCO) is the largest operation of its kind ever held. The United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) continues, as the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), supported by the United Nations. Ethiopia and Nigeria respectively provided a contingent of 6224 men and 5749 for peacekeeping missions of the UN peace, becoming the main contributors Africa. Uganda has sent more than 5,000 troops to AMISOM. End of 2011, had six UN sanctions committees for Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Liberia, the DRC, Somalia and Sudan.

NATO and the EU played a leading role in the international fleet deployed off the coast of Somalia and in the Indian Ocean in the fight against piracy. According to the Monitoring Centre piracy (CSP) of the International Maritime Bureau (Bim), there were 237 attacks by Somali pirates in 2011, an increase compared to 2010 (219 cases). One Earth Future Foundation estimated the total economic cost of these operations for 2011 between 6.6 and 6.9 billion USD. The resurgence of piracy off the coast of West Africa is a source of concern. According to ECOWAS, we would have counted at least $ 45 attacks in 2011, targeting mainly tankers and chemical tankers. Insurance premiums soaring for maritime traffic in the Atlantic, particularly in the ports of Cotonou (Benin) and Lagos (Nigeria). Both countries hold joint patrols but calling for international aid.